Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana - 1 of 2

AKWAABA ("aqua-bah") or WELCOME!

We visited Sekondi and Takoradi, the twins cities (combined in 1946) in Ghana (meaning king), the capital of the Western Region and the largest industrial and commercial center.  Ghana encompasses 92,000 square miles  (where the Atlantic becomes the Gulf of Guinea) with 32 million people (only Nigeria has more people in Africa). Over 40% of the Country is under 15 years old (only 3% over 65). Main industries are timber, cocoa, ship building and recently, oil. Sekondi was the site of Dutch Fort Orange in 1642 and the English Fort Sekondi in 1682. Takoradi was the site of Dutch Fort Witsen in 1665 and is known for its deep water seaport. The main occupation in both these places is fishing.  About half the people are still indigenous Ahanta and Christians make up 55% and Muslims are 35% and the Country overall believes strongly in religious freedom.  Of the many African languages, about 100 different ones are spoken here in different Ghanaian geographies.
 
In 1960 Ghana became a republic with a President after the British gaining control of the country beginning in the 19th Century. It was the first colony in West Africa to achieve Independence and continued to be very influential for the many of the Africa countries becoming independent.  Ghana has been very cooperative in International politics, has a strong US relationship and is active in the UN (we remember Secretary-General of the UN Kofi Annan who received the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarianism, his opposition to terrorism and his work in stopping the spread of HIV in Africa).
 
We learned the expression “Ago”/”Ame” used in Ghana and is a great way to ask for someone’s attention and showing they have it. The first person says “AGO”, meaning listen up (calling for attention) and the other person(s) respond “AME”,  meaning I am listening. It seems to be a nice way to show respect for what a person wants to “ask or say” by showing your interest in what they say.

There are 20 photos followed by 2 videos. Since we could only put 2 videos in each post, the videos here also go with the next post which are of us walking through the VERY busy fish market. We had to walk single file through with many guides along to keep people from getting lost in the crowd!Read more